The Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding: The baseline of a policy approach aimed at closing all doors to Europe?

EU Immigration Law Blog

2 October, 2017

A clear-eyed analysis of the “out of sight at any cost” policy line that European leaders are trying to put in place in order to prevent undesired migration movements towards them. Avoiding political and legal responsibility for such migrants is the only objective. The humanitarian veneer is very thin. There is absolutely no generational vision as to how human mobility should be governed, considering that the prosperity and stability differentials on the planet will continue to foster push and pull factors for migration. Questions remain. For one, how much money are Global North countries prepared to unproductively invest in securitizing their borders and others countries’ borders? And how much violence against migrants are Global North countries prepared to subsidise through such investments in the security apparatus of non-democratic or barely democratic countries?

“Cooperation with Libya on migration and border control is not a new policy choice for Italy: during the 2000s numerous agreements focused on curbing migratory flows and enhancing readmission were concluded with the then Gaddafi regime. This partnership was nevertheless suspended in 2012 as a result of both the collapse of the Libyan government due to the outbreak of the civil war and the ECtHR judgment Hirsi Jamaa, which condemned Italy for violating the principle of non-refoulement and the prohibition of collective expulsions.”